AHAVA: STOP BREAKING PALESTINIAN HEARTS!

On Saturday 12 February, boycott campaigners staged a Valentine’s Day picket outside Ahava. Shop staff quickly called the police and displayed a closed sign thus even further discouraging custom during the time we were there.

Many people were attracted to our brightly coloured broken heart-shaped signs that read “Ahava: Stop Breaking Palestinian Hearts”, “Settlements are Heartless”, “Apartheid is Heartless” and “Occupation is Heartless”.

The picket not just attracted attention to the boycott of plundered goods that Ahava sells and the crimes that are being perpetrated continuously upon Palestinians by the Israeli government, but also our presence recalled the murder of Jawaher Abu Rahmah of the Palestinian village of Bil’in by the Israeli army of occupation who died on 31 December after succumbing to fatal injuries after inhaling tear gas, fired by the Israeli military during one of the village’s weekly protests against the apartheid wall and Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine.

Jawaher was the sister of Bassem Abu Rahmah, also killed in Bil’in in 2009 when an American-made, high velocity tear gas projectile was fired directly at his chest by an Israeli soldier.

The Israeli army is notorious for attacking non-violent protestors with weapons such as different types of tear gas, sound grenades and skunk water, as well as using rubber bullets and live ammunition. Many of these deadly weapons of oppression are manufactured by American companies such as Combined Systems Incorporated (CSI), who made the tear gas that killed Jawaher and Defense Technology, which is owned by BAE Systems here in the UK. Both are major providers of tear gas to the Israeli government.

CODEPINK, an American peace organisation has created a petition with so far around 4,500 signatures that will be forwarded to CSI and our colleagues at Adalah-NY in America have generated over 1,000 e-mail messages to CSI senior executives and the US State Department. You can become part of this campaign by taking a few minutes of your time by adding your name to the petition. You can find the petition here.

As someone who has been to Bil’in on several occasions, I can myself testify to the criminally wanton use of tear gas by the Israeli military. Once after a weekly demonstration as we were peacefully walking back to the village, Israeli soldiers, who could clearly see us, fired volleys of tear gas both in front and behind our small group, forcing us to either stay where we were or run through the toxic cloud. Either way, we were exposed to the compound that causes excessive tearing, disorientation, breathing difficulties and pain.

A makeshift memorial was created directly in front of the Ahava shop that included Palestinian flags, signs, hearts and information about what happened to Jawaher. This attracted interest and many people stopped to read what was written and expressed sympathy. The public were overwhelmingly supportive, said that would tell others about the boycott campaign and expressed disgust at Israel’s actions.

The police presence on Monmouth Street consisted of one constable who arrived on a pedal bike. Another turned up, but left only after a few minutes.

The only negative feedback came from a driver of one of London’s black cabs who was carrying passengers. The cabbie stopped his vehicle, rolled down the window and asked one campaigner where exactly Palestine is. When the campaigner replied “Palestine was where the state of Israel is now”, the cabbie called the campaigner a “f***ing anti-Semite”. However, when the campaigner said that he himself was Jewish, the cabbie said that he was “f***ing doing Hitler’s work” and sped off just as the police constable approached to see what was going on. What Zionists would call those who question the illegality of Israel’s actions if either Hitler or the Nazis didn’t exist is beyond me.

It was a day not only where we raised awareness of the international boycott campaign against Ahava, but brought attention to the criminal acts carried out by the Israeli government by honouring one of its many victims.

After the picket was over we headed to the Egypt solidarity rally in nearby Trafalgar Square to celebrate the recent ouster of the Egyptian dictator Mubarak brought upon by a mass uprising. More coverage here.

Global BDS Movement.
This website is overseen by the steering committee of the Palestinian BDS National Committee and has been adopted as a tool of the ICNP (International Coordinating Network on Palestine) to support efforts of networking and coordination.

International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN).
A growing international network of Jews whose Jewish identities are not based on Zionism, but on a plurality of histories and experiences who share a commitment to participation in the legacy of struggles against colonization and imperialism.

Jody McIntyre.
Life on Wheels. One man’s journey on the path to revolution…

Karama UK.
The UK arm of Karama, an independent, non-governmental organisation providing aid for women, children and adolescents in the Deheishe Refugee Camp, Bethlehem.

King's College London Palestine Society (Facebook page).
KCL Palestine Society seeks to inform and debate issues around Israel’s occupation of Palestine as well as offer practical support through fundraising and lobbying. It also aspires to introduce Palestinian heritage and culture to the public.

Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights (LPHR).
LPHR supports Palestinian people in their legal struggle to exercise their right of self-determination. It works, both in the UK and abroad, on legal issues focused on protecting and promoting Palestinian human rights.

smashEDO.
People of conscience against the US-based weapons manufacturer EDO/ITT factory in Brighton.

SOAS Palestine Society.
The Society is dedicated to increasing understanding of the Palestinian people, their culture, their heritage, their rights and their struggle for self-determination among a broad audience.

Stop the JNF Campaign.
An international campaign aimed at ending the Jewish National Fund’s role in Israeli ethnic cleansing, occupation and apartheid.

Stop the War Coalition.
Campaigning to stop the war currently declared by the United States and its allies against ‘terrorism’.

War on Want.
Fights poverty in developing countries in partnership with people affected by globalisation. We campaign for human rights and against the root causes of global poverty, inequality and injustice.

Australians for Palestine.
Seeks to dispel the myths and disinformation about Palestine in Australia by actively engaging with the media, academic institutions, Federal and State Parliaments, governmental bodies, NGOs, and the community at large.

Olympia BDS.
A grassroots network of community members in Olympia, Washington joining the call by Palestinian civil society for a non-violent, global movement of boycott, divestment, and sanctions of Israel.

Open Shuhada Street.
A South African based initiative to raise awareness about the lack of freedom of movement in Hebron and how this issue is a reflection of the greater injustice of the ongoing occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Palestine Solidarity Committee – Seattle (USA).
Strives to build a local and national movement in solidarity with Palestine. We work to educate the public, the media, and our governmental representatives about Palestine and the role of the US in supporting the Israeli occupation.

Tadamon!
(Arabic for “solidarity”) is a Montreal-based collective which works in solidarity with struggles for self-determination, equality and justice in the ‘Middle East’ and in diaspora communities in Montreal and beyond.

US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.
A national coalition of more than 380 groups, the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation works to end U.S. support for Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

Writing Rights.
South African-based Centre for Law and Social Justice was formed in 2009 and works as a virtual centre with associates who are activists and activist intellectuals.

Electronic Intifada.
Committed to comprehensive public education on the question of Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of Israel’s 40-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

Indymedia UK.
A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

RUSSELL TRIBUNAL ON PALESTINE

Russell Tribunal on Palestine.
An International People’s Tribunal created by a large group of citizens involved in the promotion of peace and justice in the Middle East

SOLIDARITY WITHIN PALESTINE/ISRAEL

Anarchists Against the Wall.
Direct action group in response to the construction of the wall Israel is building on Palestinian land in the Occupied West Bank. Works in cooperation with Palestinians in a joint popular struggle against the occupation.

Bil'in Village.
A Palestinian village that has been holding weekly demonstrations against occupation and land theft since 2005.

Free Gaza Movement.
A human rights group that organises flotillas to break the siege of Gaza and pressure the international community to review its sanctions policy and end its support for continued Israeli occupation.

Friends of Freedom and Justice – Bil'in.
Bil’in, a small, peaceful village surrounded by hills and valleys, is a Palestinian village that is struggling to exist. It is fighting to safeguard its land, its olive trees, its resources… its liberty…